One of my clients wanted to do business with a major prospect. It was an important company which would be seen as a valuable, marquis client. The company told my client point-blank, “We’re not going to do business with you. We are already well-served.”

For one year they kept calling on this prospective account. They sold a commodity product, and knew they had to add value around the product in order to differentiate themselves. They shared ideas with the prospect about how to better use this category of products.

They made suggestions for improving their operational efficiency. They introduced them to another, current client who was willing to share some of the best practices they had developed. They never gave up